One of those candidates is interim Superintendent Vivian Ekchian, who has been leading the 621,000-student district ever since King retired. A second candidate is former Baltimore Superintendent Andres Alonso.

But the leading contender appears to be Austin Beutner, a former investment banker who has no formal background in education. But with money issues being a constant theme for the district, someone with a financial background could be the right choice.

We won’t know who will officially take over until the board meets again on May 1.